Zorra OKs bright idea
By TARA BOWIE Sentinel-Review
Posted 14 hours ago
ZORRA— The bulbs lit up above the heads of Zorra councillors when an opportunity to convert street lighting into savings was presented.
During a January meeting, Zorra council gave the go ahead to CRU Solutions, a division of ERTH Holdings Inc., to change existing street light fixtures to LED street lights. Zorra Township is the first of ERTH Holdings’ stakeholders to approve the conversion. “I think philosophically it was a good thing to do. It’s going to use less hydro and it’s going to save us money,” Mayor Margaret Lupton said during a phone interview Monday.
All of the township’s approximately 500 streetlights will be changed as soon as the weather gets warmer.
The municipality chose to debenture the $490,000 cost of the new streetlights, but Lupton thinks, in the end, the switchover will pay off.
“We’ll start to see savings right away because we won’t be using as much energy. There also won’t be any repairs for a while because they are new,” she said.
The project is expected to cut the township’s street lighting bill in half, providing energy cost savings of about $45,000 a year.
Estimates suggest enough energy will be saved in 10 years to pay for the cost of the lights.
In addition to the electricity savings, LED street lights provide brighter street light illumination and reduce pollution caused by traditional street lights. The lights come with a 10-year maintenance guarantee, competitive municipal financing rates, project management, a 20-year warranty on the photocell and a 10-year manufacturer's warranty on the LED street light fixture.
In the future, Lupton said she would like to add additional lights in rural areas at main intersections to make it easier for people from out of the area to find their way.
“Of course not this year because we don’t have the budget, but it’s something I’d like to see someday,” she said.
